(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device for protecting a drawer slide during manufacturing and finishing an article of furniture such as a desk or an entertainment center and, more particularly, a protector having a face and arms that surround the drawer slide which can be reusably fastened and removed from a drawer slide after the finishing operation over and over again.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
During the construction of a furniture piece, the various sections and components are built in a sequential manner that ultimately finishes with a completed piece that is then sold to a customer. One of the steps in this sequential process is placing drawer slides in the interior sections of furniture such as entertainment centers, desks, dressers, etc. The drawer slides are often placed in the furniture before completion of the furniture. As a result, the drawer slides may become damaged during the construction, particularly during the coating steps when the furniture is painted, stained, or otherwise finished. If the drawer slides become covered by the coating material, the coating will reduce the efficiency of the drawer slides making them more difficult to pull out, clogging the bearings of the slide, and even possibly preventing movement of the drawer slide altogether.
Previous attempts to protect the drawer slides during furniture manufacturing have had numerous drawbacks. One alternative was to use a plastic sheet wrap around the slide before installation. The wrap makes it difficult for the person installing the slide to handle and properly install the drawer slide when this wrap is placed on the drawer slide prior to its installation in the furniture. When placed on the drawer slide after installation, it is difficult for the fabric wrap to adhere and stay in place on the drawer slide. In either alternative, the wrap may be used only once which leads to waste and is more expensive and time consuming during installation.
Another alternative is to coat the drawer slide and bearings with a large amount of grease. The grease is effective in keeping the coating off the bearings, but results in grease getting on the user or other sections of the furniture which result in additional problems.
The most popular method used currently to protect the slide from dust, dirt and finishing is masking tape. The tape is generally placed over the slide in strips. However, tape removal is messy and often leaves an undesirable film on the slide.
Thus, there remains a need for a protective device for fastening over a mounted drawer slide during manufacturing that is inexpensive and easy to use while, at the same time, may be reused a number of times.